Sermon preached by Fr Adrian Stephens at the Patronal Festival for Saint Luke Enmore.

I bring you greeting and affection from the people of Christ Church St Laurence and pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart may be acceptable to you, and to Almighty God.

It is always a great honour to be asked to preach on the day of the Patronal Festival of a parish church. It is an honour that someone believes one has the oratory skill and depth of prayer and spirituality to bring honour to the saint, and to you, the people who worship here.

There is not a great deal known about St Luke. He was almost certainly a doctor, definitely a gentile with Roman leanings, he possibly was something of an artist, he was learned in that he is attributed with the writing of the Gospel of St Luke and with the writing of the only history book in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. His personality expressed, or perhaps exposed, in his writings is of particular interest.

Luke is the patron saint of doctors, so it is no accident that our first reading makes reference to the Balm of Gilead: A resin which was collected from the Storax tree in the north of Gilead, and was used for many medicinal purposes. He is also the patron saint of painters and it is believed that he carried with him images of Mary and of Jesus to be used for teaching and presumably worship. A painting of Mary was found in the catacombs, and during the Middle Ages it was attributed to the hand of St Luke. Mainly because the signature it carried; "Luca" .

There is no doubt that St. Luke was extremely loyal to St. Paul. Luke travelled with Paul for many of his journeys and it is recorded that he stayed with Paul right to the end. He was always nearby, but not simply as a spectator, but as a partner in Paul's ministry. Not that they thought or behaved the same, but in an interesting way they complemented each other.

Paul is the hard line missionary. He is the one who states clearly and with conviction that certain standards have to be upheld. Luke wanders around behind Paul putting balm on the wounds, and speaking of the woman caught in adultery who, while condemned by the people, by the law, was not condemned by Jesus. Paul proclaims that women are to obey their husbands, and Luke records the nativity primarily from the point of view of Mary and her personal response to God. The beautiful words of the Magnificat come from the pen of St Luke. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour."

Paul teaches that women should not speak in public, or at least should not teach men. Luke records both genders as Jesus' followers and in an urbane way incorporates women into many of the major events in Jesus ministry. In the Gospel of Luke women are among the witnesses of his arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection appearances. Only St John in his gospel is as strident in recording the ministry of women. However his gospel was written much later and in an entirely different cultural environment.

It is perplexing that two men, such as Luke and Paul, could be such loyal friends, and yet be so different in their outlook. Perhaps we could simply say that it is true that opposites attract, but that would be simplistic.

What we can do is to accept that Paul and Luke were very different in nature, but because of their dedication to the spread of the gospel message, the fundamental message of salvation in Christ, they were able to bring many more people to believe in Jesus, the son of God. Some people would be attracted to the gentleness of Luke, others to the discipline of Paul.

It would be wonderful if in the church today we could be as open to the contribution of different ministry as were Paul and Luke. There is no doubt that we need people who will remind us of some of the strictures of scripture. Otherwise we may wander too far from the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need Paul to say enough is enough. Paul will remind us of the law.

However it is just as true to say that we need the healing and the compassion and the relaxation of Luke. We need people to comfort and console, to bend the rules, to apply the balm, to encourage us to explore and question. To remind us that sometimes the law is an ass, and needs to be challenged, or perhaps in extreme circumstances be ignored.

We need to be allowed to make our mistakes, and then in humility return to our God. In this process our faith will become stronger and our conviction more enduring. Through this process we come to appreciate the different approaches to the gospel. We may even accept that we need the legalistic and the bombastic: Or if we are ourselves legalistic and bombastic, to accept the gentle and tolerant with their contribution to the gospel. For each in our own way will remind the members of the church of the need to follow the gospel of Christ. For Jesus is both determined and gentle.

We remember that our Lord was quite at home taking the whip to the money changers in the temple, and driving them out of his Father's house. They had turned a place of prayer into a den of robbers. He was also quite relaxed while forgiving the woman caught in adultery. "Has no one condemned you?" "No one Lord" "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more"

When we look to the gospel of Jesus Christ we are reminded that it is no accident that four different accounts of his ministry are included in the Bible. Each author has recorded their own experience of the Son of God, and each author has discovered a different aspect of Jesus' character. However all of them strive to describe the fundamental message; and that is that Jesus' ministry and crucifixion was entirely for the benefit of humanity. Each author of the gospel will declare in their own way that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he has come to offer salvation on the cross.

Each author promises that in Jesus Christ there is life, after death to this life. Paul, with his desire to follow the discipline of the law will declare that salvation in Christ is undoubtedly eternal life, and therefore is a reward for which we strive.

Your patron saint, Saint Luke, in his account and experience of Jesus found a man who challenged the status quo, and reached out to the poor, the marginalised, the women, children, and most particularly, the gentiles: The most disenfranchised of all.

May we strive to follow his example, and in our time show the love of Christ to all people.